PHILOMELA (legendary princess of Athens)

After the assault, Tereus shut her up in a lofty dwelling concealed within an ancient wood, where she trembled and feared everything, calling upon her father, sister, and the gods for help.⁶ Her severed tongue continued to quiver on the ground, but her extreme ingenuity arose from her grief as she was prevented from escaping by guards and solid stone walls.^5,3

Unable to speak, Philomela revealed her suffering by weaving characters into a robe, interweaving purple marks with white to tell a tale of the crime.^1,3 She used signs to beg an attendant to carry the garment to her mistress, while she herself shuddered and turned pale upon arriving at the accursed house.^1,3,7 The sisters were eventually unveiled and embraced after a disguise involving badges of Dionysus was removed, though Philomela refused to look up, feeling like a supplanter.⁷

Her grief was checked by her sister's rage, and the women retaliated against Tereus after his actions toward Philomela.^7,8 She threw the bloody head of Itys and longed to speak to testify her joy, though her mouth remained speechless.^9,3

According to local tradition, Philomela was transformed into a swallow after fleeing with her sister, a Thracian bird that spreads its wings toward the morning sun.^1,10,11 Now possessing a nest containing chattering young birds, she sings a strident song from the topmost branch of a tree.¹¹ Even in this new form, she feared Tereus and avoided Phocis, kept away from his country due to terror, while some writers claim the story took place in Daulis and others in Megara.^10,12